351 WINCHESTER
Member
Well to be honest I'd almost forgot about the old nylon. I bought it new when I was about 16. I bought it based on a Remington advertisement which described it as being totally relaible under all adverse conditions with little maintaince. My only other .22 was a Remngton 514 single shot.
I thought the gun looked rather cheap and out of place compared to other rifles. I guess it was Remingtons "glock" if you will.
That rifle went with me wherever I went. It stayed in my vehicles for at least 2 decades, always loaded. I must have shot it at lease 100K and I never had a malfunction of any kind even with Remington's famous golden bullet which was the only ammo I could find for a long time. I read about Remington's trick shooter who shot over 100K hand tossed wooden blocks and only missed 4 as I recall. That got me wondering if I could hit some hand tossed objects. I started out shooting bottles at the dump. No problem. My Dad used to give me his old golf balls. They were easy to hit as they had a predicted trajectory. Around 1974 cci came out with their .22 stinger and it was an instant success. I was tossing quarters and making regular hits. When the stinger hit the quarter square it would penetrate completely. I have a quarter stashed away that I hit 3 times and FOUND. Usually hit quarters were never found.
As one could imagine I spent a lot of time with that nylon. Dad used to tell me that it was time to buy a new one as the barrel was shot out. Wrong, but it did need a good cleaning. I finally took it apart and was amazed at how simple it was and there was a tremendous amount of gunk inside. I took my pocket knife and scraped off lead and other debris. Assembly was just as easy.
Having it with me made it possible to shoot lots of critters, snakes, hogs, dove and even a few gators.
No one believed that I could hit a hand tossed golf ball, much less a quarter. I suprised a lot of my friends. It's really quite simple (especially with stingers). Most of it is in the rythim. I knew when I tossed something if I messed up and would not try the shot, but when it felt right I would follow the target up and shoot just before it stopped in mid air. I could usually tell just before I shot if I would connect or not.
I retired that old nylon and gave it to my oldest son and told him of "trick" shooting. I taught him how to throw his targets and when to shoot. It must be something in the gene pool because he picked it up pretty quickly. He hits dimes like I used to hit quarters. I warned him early on about what angles to shoot and the ones not to shoot due to safety of a stray bullet.
I found that old nylon tonight. It's in suprisingly good shape for what it's been thru. No rust, just some scratches.
I think I'll take it apart tomorrow and clean it (even the barrel) and the next time I go shooting it's going with me. I'll see if I can find some old golf balls and have some fun. I don't think I can hit quarters anymore, but maybe I'll try.
I had a bet with the kids one day that I could empty my 63Winchester faster than my nylon with 11 rounds. My oldest son told me, "no way". I proved him wrong knowing the trigger action was much quicker on the Winchester.
I don't think you can wear out a nylon and they sure as heck won't win any beauty contest, but they shoot and keep on shooting and balance like a dream. They don't like scopes as the poi will shift (even with minor grip changes). My one and only complaint is that the front sight is too thick which makes precision shots harder.
I see they sell on Gunbroker for crazy prices, but mine isn't for sale.
I thought the gun looked rather cheap and out of place compared to other rifles. I guess it was Remingtons "glock" if you will.
That rifle went with me wherever I went. It stayed in my vehicles for at least 2 decades, always loaded. I must have shot it at lease 100K and I never had a malfunction of any kind even with Remington's famous golden bullet which was the only ammo I could find for a long time. I read about Remington's trick shooter who shot over 100K hand tossed wooden blocks and only missed 4 as I recall. That got me wondering if I could hit some hand tossed objects. I started out shooting bottles at the dump. No problem. My Dad used to give me his old golf balls. They were easy to hit as they had a predicted trajectory. Around 1974 cci came out with their .22 stinger and it was an instant success. I was tossing quarters and making regular hits. When the stinger hit the quarter square it would penetrate completely. I have a quarter stashed away that I hit 3 times and FOUND. Usually hit quarters were never found.
As one could imagine I spent a lot of time with that nylon. Dad used to tell me that it was time to buy a new one as the barrel was shot out. Wrong, but it did need a good cleaning. I finally took it apart and was amazed at how simple it was and there was a tremendous amount of gunk inside. I took my pocket knife and scraped off lead and other debris. Assembly was just as easy.
Having it with me made it possible to shoot lots of critters, snakes, hogs, dove and even a few gators.
No one believed that I could hit a hand tossed golf ball, much less a quarter. I suprised a lot of my friends. It's really quite simple (especially with stingers). Most of it is in the rythim. I knew when I tossed something if I messed up and would not try the shot, but when it felt right I would follow the target up and shoot just before it stopped in mid air. I could usually tell just before I shot if I would connect or not.
I retired that old nylon and gave it to my oldest son and told him of "trick" shooting. I taught him how to throw his targets and when to shoot. It must be something in the gene pool because he picked it up pretty quickly. He hits dimes like I used to hit quarters. I warned him early on about what angles to shoot and the ones not to shoot due to safety of a stray bullet.
I found that old nylon tonight. It's in suprisingly good shape for what it's been thru. No rust, just some scratches.
I think I'll take it apart tomorrow and clean it (even the barrel) and the next time I go shooting it's going with me. I'll see if I can find some old golf balls and have some fun. I don't think I can hit quarters anymore, but maybe I'll try.
I had a bet with the kids one day that I could empty my 63Winchester faster than my nylon with 11 rounds. My oldest son told me, "no way". I proved him wrong knowing the trigger action was much quicker on the Winchester.
I don't think you can wear out a nylon and they sure as heck won't win any beauty contest, but they shoot and keep on shooting and balance like a dream. They don't like scopes as the poi will shift (even with minor grip changes). My one and only complaint is that the front sight is too thick which makes precision shots harder.
I see they sell on Gunbroker for crazy prices, but mine isn't for sale.
